Annealing furnace



July 7, 1936. c. NAG LE ANNEALING FURNACE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 8, 1953 c. NAGLE 2,047,108

62/1005 NHGLE July 7, 1936.

ANNEALING FURNACE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 c. NAGLE ANNEALING FURNACE Filed June 8,

me/wto o CLAUDE A flGLE July 7, 1936. c. NAGLE 2,047,108

ANNEALING FURNACE Filed June 8, 1933 4 Sheets-Shee t 4 g/ ClifibE H4615 Roan 1,13

Patented July 7, 193;

UNITED STATES! *PlATsNTYoF icia My invention relates to annealing furnaces or leers and more particularly to a leer oi the continuous type used in annealing glassware and the like.

having an improved flre box. arrangement whereby the heating of the chambers is maintained at a substantially uniform temperature.

- Another obiectot my invention is to provide a '5 Heretofore, it has been proposed to construct leer having a pre-heating zone adapted to bring leers of the continuous type wherein the articles to be annealed are passed through the annealin chamber by means of an endless conveyor. In

t the prior art devices the annealing chamber is heated by one or more burners connected with suitable fines or passages, whereby the top and bottom of the chamber is exposed to the heated gases. With these arrangements considerable difficulty has been experienced in controlling the 1 temperature within the annealing chamber for the reason that in only heating the bottom and top, areas which are cooler than the top or hottom are formed along the sides of .the chamber. This results in exposing the articles to. be 'annealed, which are near the edges of the conveyor, to the cooler areas with resultant lines of stress or strain being set up with'the material which may cause cracking or breaking of the article.

.Another inherent dlfllculty experienced with leers of conventional design, is method 0! introducing the materials into the annealing chamber.

\ According to present practice, the articles. are placed upon the. endless conveyor near the front end oithe chamber and are moved forwardly at a predetermined speed. Since the articles which are first placed on the conveyor are the first to I enter the chamber, they are, obviously much hotter than those which are'subsequently placed on the conveyor. As soon as a given group of the ware to be annealed is within the chamber the articles in that group are of necessity at various degrees of temperaturesand during the annealing step are subjected to a temperature which frequently causes cracking or formation of lines o! strainin the ware. v

It is the purpose of the present invention to overcome the above noted dimculties as well as i others by means oi. an improved furnace structure wherein the fire boxes are arranged and connected through suitable passages and flues whereby the interior of the annealing chamber is uniformly heated. The invention also includes an arrangement adapted to initially bring the ware to be annealed to a uniform temperaturev before it .is introduced into theannealing chamber, and means are providedto obtain proper temperature, control after the were .leaves [the chamber. An object of my invention is to provide a leer the were to be annealed to a uniform temperature before it is introduced into the annealing chamber. 1

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a leer having an improved tunnel arrangement 10 adapted to permit expansion and contraction of its parts during the normal operation without any bulging or displacement oi! the lining. r

Still another object of the invention is to provide a leer having an improved cooling arrange- 15 ment associated with'the cooling zone whereby the ware is efllciently cooled, after it leaves the heating chamber. 7 l

A further object or the invention is to provide an improved driving arrangement for the end- 20 less conveyor used to convey the were through the leer.

With these and other objects in view, which may be incident to my improvements, the invention consists in the parts and combinations to be 25 v hereinafter set forth and claimed, with the understanding that the several necessary elements, comprising my inventibmmay be varied in construction, proportions and arrangement, without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In order to make 'my invention more clearly understood, I have shown in the accompanying drawings means .for carrying the same into practical eflect, without limiting the improvements in 5 showing the arrangement of .the flues in the vicinity of the equalizing and heating zones.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view along line A- -A of Fig. 4 showing the arrangement of the fire boxes and tunnel.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view aloha line 3-3 or. r1355.

veyor drive mechanism.

view of the endless con- Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a leer or furnace having a preheating or equalizing zone A, a heating zone B, a holding zone C and a cool ing zone D. Near the end of the cooling zone, there is provided a suitable packing table T adapted to receive the ware after it has been annealed. The furnace is mounted upon i'suitable supports I and is provided with reinforcing bands or straps 2 throughout its length.

The articles to be annealed are moved through the various zones of the leer by means of an endless belt 3 mounted upon rollers 4 and adapted to be driven by means of a motor 5 and its associated equipment 6. Mounted upon the top of the furnace is a motor 1 adapted to drive a suction fan or blower 8 having an inlet 9 and an outlet Ill. The inlet of the fan is connected to a pair of conduits extending along either side of the furnace and connected with ports l2 opening into the holding zone.- The conduits are provided with suitable dampers [3 whereby the flow of heated gases from the holding zone to the outlet may be properly controlled.

Referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that the bottom of the leer is made up of a plurality of plates I4 resting upon and supported by transverse beams IS. The plates l4 are not fastened to the beams, but are so mounted that they are free to move due to contraction and expansion, movement of the plates in the direction of the length of the furnace being limited by means of stops or projections l6 formed on the bottom of the plates. The top of the furnace is supported by means of a plurality of I-beams l1 and the entrance to the equalizing zone islprovided with a vertical adjustable gate or sliding door It,

- adapted to be moved by means-of a suitable opcrating mechanism.

Referring to Figures 5 and 6, there is shown sectional; views through the heating zone. It will be noted that the leer is provided with two flre boxes, one on either side of a central partition member IQ, which are equipped with burners I9, combustion chambers 24 and passages 21. Since each half. of the furnace is identical, the descrip- ,tion be limited to one side only. Elle heated gases pass from the combustion chamber 2| through the passage}! and along the side of the furnace into the conduit 22 at the top of the heating chamber as shown hr the arrows. As will be seen from Figure 6, the heated gases are divided after they pass from the combustion chamber and discharge into the conduit or flue 22. by means of separate paths. With this arrangement, equal distribution of heat is obtained along the sides of the furnace.

From the description thus far, it will be seen that the leer is'heated along a portion of the bottom, at sides and top by means of two flre boxes having separate burners therein. The flow up of the bottom and side linings together with the longitudinal flues. Inthisconne'ction it will be noted that the tunnel is arranged so that it is freely floating, in" order that expansion and tontraction of the plates will not cause bulging on the interior of the furnace. The specific supporting arrangement for the tunnel will be described more fully hereinafter.

The bottom of the tunnel, as already indicated. 5 is formed with plates I4 and on either side thereof, are pieces 23 adapted to withstand the effects of the highly heated gases which pass in proxim ity to the edge and bottom of the tunnel. The platesl4 are bolted or fastened by means of bolts 10 24 at one end thereof, to the material 23. Exterior of the tunnel, the bottom, top and sides of the furnace, are provided with suitable refractory material in the form of bricks 25 and the outer surface of the furnace is formed of packing ma- 15 terial 28.

Extending crosswise of the fire box and near the bottom thereof, is a conduit 21 having an outlet 28 into the combustion chamber whereby air may be supplied to the burners in order to support'combustion. Above the combustion chamber and extending transversely of the furnace. there is provided a plurality of beams 22 adapted to support pillars 30 upon which the members II forming the lining for the side of the tunnel are mounted. As shown in Figure 6, the I-beams I! rest directly on top of members 3| and rollers 4 which support the endless belt, are attached to the bottom of the furnace by means of brackets :2.

Referring to Figure 4, it will be seen that the conduit 22 is made up of a plurality of sections 22 resting upon and supported by the flanges 24 of the I-beams H. The sections 33 are substantially r-shaped hollow members, the arms of a which seat in openings formed in the webs of the I-beams ll. These sections are also provided with projections "*which rest on the flanges 34 and between each of the sections forming the longitudinal flue 22 of the heating chamber, con- 40 necting members 28 are provid These members are likewise hollow and are formed with reduced portions 31 adapted to flt into the openings formed in the I-beams l1 and provide a con- .tinuous passage for plates 3| are formed with projections or arms ll providing a groove or channel adapted to receive refractory material II in the forin of brick sections. K

I It will now be'seen that the I-beana upon the top edges of the plates 2| hollow sections 32 and SI are"llpported by the flanges of the beams. Since the webs of the beams are provided with openings adapted to receive the ends of sections II and II, a continuous passage is provided for the hot gasesalong the top of theleer. The gases pass upwardly from the fire boxes along the sides of the heating 'chamberthmughports 'intosectiom ",then

through the openings in the webs of the beams 00 into sections 3' and after passing hrough these sections, are joined with the gases coming from the other ports 2|.

and that the Near the front of the leer, there is a M port 40 connected by means of suitable with the combustion chambers. The hot gases of sections similar to '1: connecting means 3' flue within'the heating zone. a The first section 4| of the flue is provided with a side piece 42 having the heated gases The side 6 projections T43 formed thereon, (adapted to seat formed of a plurality of bottom, side and top secon the inside flange of the first transverse I tions, the, top sections being hollow and-intenbeam, and the interior side walls of the equalizing connected by means" of hollow coupling memzone are formed with refractory material 44, held bers'to form a conduit extending longitudinally in position between the vertical beams 45. of the chamber, each of said top sections com- The flue 22 extends from the front end of the leer through the ehualizing zone and terminates 'at the end of the heating chamber. The last 1' within the cooling zone, suitable dampers 48-48 the highest.

municatingby means of separate gas passages with the firebox. 2. In an annealing furnace of the continuous section 46 at the end of the heating chamber is .type, a heating chamber formed of a plurality similar to the section II at the entrance to the ofindividual bottom, side and top sections, each 10k equalizing zone and after the gases have passed of said top sections being hollow and freely movthrough the equalizing and heating zones, they able with respect to and unattached to any other enter passage. 41 and continue down along the sectionr'whereby any one of the top sections may sides of the leer through the holding and cooling; expand or contract independently of the other zones. v sections, and means for supplying a gaseous heats In order to properly control the temperature ing mediunrto the interior of said top sections.

I 3. A leer or the continuoustype having a cenare provided, as more clearly shown in Figure 2. tral tunnelr formed of a plurality of individual The dampers are formed with blades or flaps 49' bottom, side and top sections, the bottom sections pivoted about "an axis 5|! and adapted to be being unconnectedand free to move independopened or closed by suitable mechanism not ently.of each other in'the planeoi the bottom shown. In this connection, it will be noted that of the tunnel, the top sections being hollow and the dampers are placed centrally of the leer and interconnected to form a passage for a gaseous provide means for withdrawing the heated gases heating medium and a iire box communicating by natural draft from the center of the zone, with said passage.

thereby effecting a gradual withdrawing of the o gases from thepoint at whichthe temperature is source of heat, an inner tunnel formed ot a plu Referring to Figure 7, the beams 29 are prosections being hollow and interconnected by vided with projections BI and the plates II are means of hollow 1 8 be s to form a formed with cut-out portions 52 adapted t fig conduit extending longitudinally'ofthe, leer, said around the projections iii. The purpose of this conduit being nne ted to the source of heat by t. In a leer of the continuous type including a I arrangement is to limit the longitudinal movement of the plates wlien they expand due to the high temperature to which they are subjected. In order to maintain the plates ll in a horizontal position, the clips 53 are provided, which overlap for theendless belt comprises a motor 54 having a-base 55 mounted upon support members 58. The motor is provided with a pulled 51 adapted to drive a'belt 58 connected with a pulley 59 mounted upon a drum- 80. After the endless belt or chain 3' leaves the packing table, it passes around an idler pulley Bl, then around drum 60, over adjustable pulley B2 and back to the front end of the leer.

In order to increase the effective 'area of contact betweenthe endless belt and the drum B0. and to also provide for the. proper tensioning of the belt; pulley 82 may be adjusted longitudinally. of its support 63. Between the pulley frame 84 and a fixed support 55. there is .nmou'n'ted a spring 86 adapted to be compressed when excess com-- pression is plaoedhpon the pulley, the tension of the spring being adjusted by means of a set screw 61. It sometimes happens that dirt or other foreign matter adheres to the belt and if; the tensiohihg pulley were not free to movefthe excess compression between roller 62 and the surface of the belt might injure thefbelt or causebreakage' of the pulley.

' While Ihave shown'and described the preferred -embodiment of myinvention, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the priocise'details of construction herein set forth,

1 way of illustrations, as it is apparent that many.

changes and variations may be made therein, by those skilled in the art. without departing from the spirit of the invention, or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

'Whatisclaimed is:

1. In an annealing furnace of the continuous raiity of bottom; side and top sections, said,,top'

gases pass around the bottom. upwardly of the 35 sides and toy the top of the leer to heat the interior of the chamber.

5. In a leer of the continuous type including a source of heat, an inner tunnel formed of a plurality of bottom, side and top sections; means to support. the top sections comprising a plurality of transverse members mounted in spaced relation lengthwise of the leer, said members having openings formed therein adapted to receive the ends of said sections, the top sections being hollow and interconnected to forms. conduit extending longitudinally of the leer, said conduit bein connected to .the source ofheat by means 0 flues 7 duit extending of the leer, said go conduit being connected to the source -of healthy 7 means of .fiues includingpassages in the rear of certain of the sidesections'. a

'7. In a leer of the continuous type including a;

source of heat, an inner-tunnel formed of a plug rality of, bottom, side and top sections, means to support the'top sections comprising aplurality of transverse members mounted in spaced relation lengthwise of the leer, said members'having openings formed therein ends" of said top sections, the top sections being coupling members to form' a conduit extending. .longitudinally of the leer.- f

. hollow and interconnected by means of hollow type includingja the box, a heating 'chamber 8. In an annealing furnace of, the continuous 75 adapted to receive the 7 type, an inner tunnel formed of a plurality of bottom, side, and top sections, means to support said top sections comprising a plurality of -beams having openings formed in the web portions tion. unattached either to other portions of said inner tunnel or to said framework and free to expand and move when heated, and means for supplying a gaseous heating medium to the interior of said hollow wall-forming portion..

l0. Ina glassware annealing leer including an outer tunnel composed of insulating material and a structural framework, an inner tunnel having its top formed of hollow portions unattached either to other portions of said inner tunnel or to saidfraniework and free to expand and move when heated, and means for supplying a gaseous heating medium to the interior of said hollow portions.

CLAUDE mom. 

